Car stop



D. B. FINCH Oct. 10, 1939.

CAR STOP Filed Dec. 28, 1938 Patented Oct. 10, 1939 UNITED ST TES PATENTOFFICE 5 Claims.

The invention relatesto improvements in car stops or track dogs for usewith mine and'other cars to provide a safety device applicable at willto a rail and operable to act as a stop for the .5 purpose of preventingcars from rolling or coast ing from predetermined positions to otherpoints hazardous to property or life.

The invention aims to provide a device of the class in question which issimple, safe, inexpenl sive, readily portable and adequate, which may beattached to rails of more than one size, which can be attached securelyin position on the rail without the use of tools other than a hammer,axe or piece of equipment with which to apply force to 15 the clampingmechanism, which can be operated quickly and easily to operativeposition or to idle position, in the latter of which the track is clear,which may be thus operated Without the, operator reaching under the car,which may be rendered operative and inoperative without removal from therail, which can be attached to the rail or detached therefrom while thecars are occupying the track Without hazard to the person attaching ordetaching the same, and which can be used between the front and rearwheels of a car to act as a stop in both directions.

With the foregoing in view, the invention resides in the novel subjectmatter hereinafter described and claimed, description being accomplishedby 0 reference to the accompanying drawing.

Figure l is a top plan view showing the device attached to a rail.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view partly in elevation asindicated by line 2-2 of Figure l.

Figure 3 is an end elevation as indicated by the arrow 3 of Figure 2.

A preferred form of construction has been illustrated and will be ratherspecifically described, with the understanding, however, that within thescope of the invention as claimed, variations may be made.

A horizontally elongated base member is provided to extend under a rail6, said base member being provided at one end with hooks l to engage 45one edge of the rail base and being provided at its opposite end with alongitudinal slot 8. Near the inner end of this slot, the base member 5is provided with a rigid upstanding abutment 9.

A slide member Ill rests on the base member 5 50 and is provided withangular guide flanges I I slidably embracing the longitudinal edgesthereof.

The inner end of this slide member is adapted to abut an edge of therail base to coact with the books 1 in securing the device in place, andsaid 55 inner end is provided with suitable projections [2 with theabutment 9.

to overlie said base. The member H3 is provided with twoupstanding earsl3 between which a wheel stop I4 is pivoted by means of a bolt or thelike I5. -'I have shown an operating rod i 6 pivoted at H to the stop Mfor projecting it to an opera- 5 tive position in which 'it overlies therail 6, or for retracting it to an idle position in which the track isclear. 1

A cam l8 preferably of about semi-circular form, overlies the slottedend of the base member 1 5 and the abutment 9 and is provided witha hub19 which passes slidably and turnably through the slot ,8, being heldagainst withdrawal from said slot by means of a bolt 20', washer 2i andnut 22, in the present disclosure. The cam i8 is provided with twoarcuate converging cam surfaces 23 and 24 which extend between the outerend of the slide member I'D and the abutment 9, thesurface 23 being incontact with said outer end of said slide member l0, and the surface 24being in contact 20 The outer end of the member H! is preferablyconcavely curved as at 25 for contact with the surface 23, and hispreferable that this surface be concentric with the hub l9, whereas thesurface 24 is spirally disposed with 25 respect to' said hub. However,this relation could of course be varied and the two cam surfaces stillmaintained in converging relation, to jointly act as a wedge when thecam I8 is turned, thereby relatively moving the hooks T and the memberit into clamping relation with the rail ii to hold the entire device in,place thereon.

- I prefer to provide the cam IS with an upwardly projecting lug 26 tobe struck with a hammer, axe,

or piece of equipment to forcibly turn said cam to operative position inwhich it effects tight clamping of the device upon the rail. The samelug is of course usable in the same way when releasing the cam to detachthe device from the rail. As the cam turns and the two members 5 and Iiirelatively move into clamping position or released position, the cam l8moves longitudinally of said member 5 and its hub I9 then slides in theslot 8. Since the pivot of the cam is thus free from direct attachmentto either of the members 5 or ill, said pivot is relieved of strainwhich it would necessarily receive if the cam acted only against themember ii] and had its pivot directly secured to the base member 5.

Particular attention is invited to the rod I6 by means of which the stopI4 may be move-d to and from operative position without endangering theperson so moving said stop. Frequently the coal seam is only thirty-sixinches high or less. This condition has necessitated the broadening,

lengthening and lowering of mine cars to increase their capacity andstill permit them to operate in this low coal seam, until many of themoverhang the track at the sides as much as eighteen or twenty inches andclear the track only by four and one-half inches or even less. Theseoverhanging 10w cars make it difiicult to attach and operate most carstops and they present a real hazard to the worker in .that he must liedown and reach under the car to attach or adjust the stop. By providingthe rod [6, however, extending to a safe distance,'this difiiculty andhazard are overcome as the stop can be operated, the" while the workeris in a safe position without boundary of the car.

From the foregoing taken in connection with.

the accompanying drawing, it'will"be'seen"that"' a novel device has beenprovided for carrying out the objects of the invention. While detailshave been disclosed which may be considered as pre-" ferred, attentionis invitedto the fact that variations may be made within the scope ofthe invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. A car stop comprising two clamping members connected for relativemovement into and out of clamping engagement with a rail base, saidmembers having opposed abutments spaced apart in the direction in whichsaid members are relatively movable, a cam, means mounting said cam onone of said members for turning about an axis and for sliding movementin the aforesaid direction, said cam having two arcuate converging camsurfaces extending between said abutments, said arcuate surfacescontacting one with one of said abutments and the other with the otherof said abutments, and a wheel stop mounted for projection andretraction on one of said members to overlie the rail when projected andto clear the rail when retracted.

2. A car stop comprising two clamping members connected for relativemovement into and out of clamping engagement with a rail base, saidmembers having opposed abutments spaced apart in the direction in whichsaid members are relatively movable, one of said members being providedwith a slot extending in said direction, a cam, means mounting said camfor turning about a vertical axis and for sliding movement in theaforesaid direction, said means having a portion slidable in theaforesaid slot, said cam having two arcuate converging cam surfacesextending between said abutments, said arcuate surfaces contacting onewith one of said abutments and the other with the other of saidabutments, and a wheel stop mounted for projection and retraction on oneof said members to overlie the rail when projected and to clear the railwhen retracted.

3. A car stop comprising a base member to extend transversely under arail and having a hook at one end to engage one edge of the rail base, aslide member upon and 'slidably connected with said base member to abutthe other edge of the rail base, said base member having an upstandingabutment in outwardly spaced relation with the outer end of said slidemember, a. cam overlying the end of said base member remote from saidhook, means mounting said cam on said base member for turning about avertical axis and for sliding movement in the direction in which saidslide member is slidable, said cam having two arcuate converging camsurfaces extending between said outer end of said slide member and saidabutment, said cam surfaces contacting one with said abutment and theother with said outer end of said slide member, and a 'wheel stopmounted for projection and retraction on, said slide member to overliethe rail when projected and to clear the rail when retracted.

"LA'car stop comprising a base member to extend transversely under arail and having a hook at one end to engage one edge of the rail base, aslide member upon and slidably connected with said base member to abutthe other edge of the rail base, said base member having an upstandingabutment in outwardly spaced relation with the outer end of said slidemember, the end of said base member remote from said hook being provided with a slot elongated in the direction in which said slide memberis movable, a cam overlying said slot and said abutment, means mountingsaid cam for turning about a vertical axis and for sliding movement inthe direction in which said slide member is movable, said means having aportion slidable in the aforesaid slot, said cam having two arcuateconverging cam surfaces extending between said outer end of said slidemember and said abutment, said cam surfaces contacting one with saidabutment and the other with saidouter end of said slide member, and awheel stop mounted for projection and retraction on said slide member tooverlie the rail when projected and to clear the rail when retracted;

5. A car stop comprising a base member to extend transversely under arail and having a hook at one end to engage one edge of the rail base, aslide member upon and slidably connected with said base member to abutthe other edge of the rail base, said base member having an upstandingabutment in outwardly spaced relation with the outer end of said slidemember, the end of said base member remote from said hook being providedwith a slot elongated in the direction in which said'slide member ismovable, a cam overlying said slot and said abutment and having adownwardly projecting hub rotatable and slidable in said slot and heldagainst withdrawal therefrom, said cam having two arcuate converging camsurfaces extending between said outer member, and a wheel stop mountedfor projection and retraction on s'aid'slide member to overlie the railwhen projected and to clear the rail when retracted.

DELMAR B. FINCH.

